Thursday was our last day in the park(s). After a noisy breakfast that reinforced my dislike of undisciplined brats and the parents who inflict them on unsuspecting diners we packed up and made our way to the Jackson Hole Airport.
We knew we were going to be early so we decided to try to spot a moose or two in the same area of our unsuccessful attempt the day before. We stopped at the overlook twice - once on the way out and once on the way back - and drove past some likely marshes. Once again the results were the same. We spotted some trampled down vegetation but we didn’t see a moose.
The animal count for the trip:
- Bears: 1
- Moose: 1
- Pronghorn: 3
- Deer: Several
- Elk: A couple of dozen
- Bison: A couple of hundred
- Mosquitoes: Several million
We dropped off the rental at the Jackson Hole airport. The rental return area isn’t much separated from the rest of the parking lot so you just park as close to the return sign as you can. We told the Hertz agent where we parked and she assured us that she would find the car. Since they haven’t contacted us in the past two weeks, I have to assume they did find it and there isn’t a warrant out for our arrest.
The Jackson Hole airport is tiny, and not very busy in mid-July. They get the occasional large aircraft in but there’s a lot of general aviation, too. We got some lunch then went through security. There were so few people in the airport that the TSA inspectors would strike up a conversation with you just to relieve the boredom.
It was a quick flight to Salt Lake City and then we had our layover. Due to a flight scheduling change we had a 5 or 6 hour wait until our next flight. Since we knew that before we left home, we had a plan. Go eat dinner at the Red Iguana restaurant.
But how to get there? Our first thought was to take a cab but Mrs. Salad Is Slaughter remembered that the last time she took a cab from the Salt Lake City airport to downtown it costs a ton of money, on the order of 50 or 60 bucks. So we went to the car rental area.
We first checked Hertz and Budget. They both wanted about 90 dollars or so for just the couple of hours we’d need the car because they rent by the day. Then we went over to the Thrifty booth. Forty-something bucks. That’s cheaper than a cab ride and we wouldn’t have to call a cab to return to the airport.
Red Iguana is one of the best Mexican restaurants anywhere. And I say that as someone who’s eaten Mexican food in California, Texas, Nevada and New Mexico. I had the lomo de puerco en mole de almendras - a mole dish of almonds, chile guajillo, chile guero, yellow zucchini, milk, peanut butter and onions, served with aroasted pork loin stuffed with dried fruit, sun-dried tomatoes, swiss chard and pine nuts. Wow, it was good.
Mrs. SisS ordered a combo plate with a taco, enchilada, and chili relleno. Of course we had to sample each other’s selections. The taco show looked like it was freshly made and not out of a box. That makes a tremendous difference right there. The cheese enchilada was excellent and was covered with one of the best enchilada sauces I’ve ever had. The chili relleno was very good; not the absolute best I’ve ever had, but far above average.
After finishing our most excellent dinner, confirming that our last visit wasn’t a fluke and buying Red Iguana tee shirts and shot glasses we drove back to the airport and waited. We spent a lot of time wandering around the airport shops. I spotted a Carl Sagan book sitting next to a piece of Deepak Chopra bullshit and starting making snide comments about putting science books next to nonsense. In another store I saw the latest piece of crap from swindler Silvia Brown and started making more disparaging comments. Clearly the airport bookstores weren’t the place for me to be.
We finally hopped on our plane and arrived home late. We paid off the dog sitter and greeted our animals who not surprisingly were really glad to see us.
Stumble it!